Kazunori Yamauchi on PS3

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The Gran Turismo producer shares his vision for the future.

By Anoop Gantayat

Sony's sudden rush of PlayStation 3 news continues today with a brand new website. The company has opened up a new concept site called PlayBeyond which promises to feature interviews with some of Japan's biggest game talent.

Things kicked off today with a 10-minute interview with Polyphony Digital's Kazunori Yamauchi. The man behind Gran Turismo shared his thoughts on the PlayStation 3 through nine minute-long segments. We've summarized each segment here. If you don't understand Japanese, refer to this guide while watching.

Segment 1: Yamauchi begins by talking about the changes that the PS3 brings to the gaming scene. First off, graphics. The PS1 and PS2 supported NTSC, but the PS3 makes the move to high definition standards. This means, basically, that the resolution goes up, but Yamauchi notes that as a developer he was surprised with the resolution jump, and he believes game players will also be surprised.

Segment 2: Second, the PS3 brings physics to the scene. The PS2 and PS1 weren't capable of producing the physical world Polyphony wanted to create. With the PS3, Polyphony can for the first time, have actual physical calculations, which contributes not only to the feel of driving, but also to the car's surrounding environment. Yamauchi mentions a few areas regarding the environment: grass on the ground, trees that are growing thick, and leaves blowing in the wind and, most importantly, lots of people watching the race. You can do all these things without difficulty, and he believes other genres even outside of racers will benefit.

Segment 3: Third, the network. Games until now have been closed -- you buy a game and play it, then buy another game and play it. Yamauchi believes that when most think of networks, they imagine cell phones and something like Internet Explorer. Sony is looking to do something different. The network that we see right now in the homes is just one aspect of networking, not the full thing. Yamauchi wants to make a new network world, something that anyone can understand.

Segment 4: Yamauchi begins by pointing out that when driving, you need a wide view, and you need small details for viewing distant objects, something that requires high resolution. "At last, you can see what you want to see," he says of the PS3. Previous racers have faked it, allowing you to see only 20 or 30 meters. Now, you can see hundreds of meters before you. This will change the overall sense of play. Yamauchi considers it possible that high definition will be brought into homes not because of movies but because of games.

Segment 5: Gran Turismo is a very open game -- it's not something in Yamauchi's head, but something that reflects changes in society, cars and car culture. With the PS3, you can do things like send out the latest car data. "I believe there will be something that changes every day," says Yamauchi. Gran Turismo will slowly change, or evolve, through the weeks and years.

Segment 6: The first thing people think of when one mentions network-ready Gran Turismo is that you'll be able to race other players. That's certainly the case. However, the network is capable of more than that. For the next Gran Turismo, the game's developers, users and the car makers alike will be able to build up a community of car lovers. Yamauchi believes this community has millions of people throughout the world.

Segment 7: PlayStation 3 isn't just a game revolution, but a television revolution. It answers, "What is shown on the television?". Yamauchi has an image of what we'll be doing with televisions in 10 years, and the revolution towards that beings this year.

Segment 8: Games and movies are on equal ground now with the PlayStation 3. While it's tough for developers, they can no longer fall back on the excuse of "it's just a game." It's now required to make finer details, in addition to dealing with increasing data. Yamauchi says that while development is fun, it's also very difficult. Still, he wishes he'd had the PS3 10 years ago.

Segment 9: Yamauchi is asked what the PlayStation means to him. Although making interesting games is his work, he always feels like changing the world. He believes that, as someone who wishes to change the world, the PS3 is a tool for causing a revolution.

There's enough vague commentary in this latest Yamauchi interview to make even Ken Kutaragi blush. Let's hope we get a look at Polyphony's vision for gaming's future not too long from now.